I thought we could have a proper thread for questions about the Sami language(s). Please post your questions about grammar, vocabulary, expressions, etc. in this thread from now on. Let's leave the Translation Request thred for translation requests.

I'm looking for good resources to learn Davvisámi that are in Finnish, because I detest the idea of using a copula-language when the target language and my native one are so close to each other, and it would make almost no sense to try to learn it through English or German for that matter.

I've been using Davvin 1 but I have found that I hate it. It's incoherent, rambley and all in all the amount of target language is ridiculously low. I could make do with it but I'd much rather use something else. What series of books are there for Finnish speakers? Are there ANY readers or sources of bilingual text to be had in Finnish?

Have you tried a series called "Cealkke dearvvuođaid" by Helmi Länsman? We occasionally did some of the exercises in it in class but we didn't actually follow the book. So I can't tell you whether it's any good or not.

Virankannos wrote:Have you tried a series called "Cealkke dearvvuođaid" by Helmi Länsman? We occasionally did some of the exercises in it in class but we didn't actually follow the book. So I can't tell you whether it's any good or not.

I have the first three from the library and I've been following the first one. It's much better, although I wish the chapters were less like... gymnasium teaching oriented. Do you know of anywhere I could find bilingual texts, that is, the same text side by side in both languages?

Even though you probably can read some Norwegian because of Swedish, what I have may be a little unusual or unsuitable, but there's the script for Hemingway's Mice and Men in a dual Norwegian-Northern Sámi layout as used by Beaivváš Sámi Nášunálateáhter.

Actually I prefer Davvin over Cealkke dearvvuođaid after having compared them side-by-side in a bookshop in Lappi. Davvin seems a little bit more suitable for someone learning indepedently than Cealkke dearvvuođaid. I too got the feeling that it's meant for a classroom (and if I recall correctly it lacks an answer key unlike Davvin).

Have you thought about using online material to supplement learning from a textbook? The introductory course Oahpa giela! now comes in a Finnish version [on the right of the screen there's a link to "Suoma kursa" with a list of the chapters and sections]

Thank you tons for the Oahpa link. I am rather proficient in understanding Norwegian due to having Norwegian friends I have talked to extensively, but like I said, I detest the idea of a copula-language. I'll download it and have a look. Maybe I'll try to translate the Norwegian passages to Finnish or something haha.

2) Site on Sámi school history which includes texts on the history of education in Sápmi in Northern Sámi, Norwegian or English and can be arranged as parallel texts by opening separate windows using different languages. The page is translated into other languages but I repeat that the relevant texts are in the three languages already mentioned.

The only items for free that I can easily find and link Sámic material with Finnish (apart from Wikipedia) is the website of the Finnish Samediggi (changing the language at the top of the page gives you the site's text in that language with choices of Finnish, Northern Sámi, Inari Sámi, Skolt Sámi, and English) and (this is really stretching it) watching Ođđasat with Finnish subtitles.

Ytan wrote:Thank you tons for the Oahpa link. I am rather proficient in understanding Norwegian due to having Norwegian friends I have talked to extensively, but like I said, I detest the idea of a copula-language. I'll download it and have a look. Maybe I'll try to translate the Norwegian passages to Finnish or something haha.

I know this is off-topic, but out of linguistic curiosity, what do you mean by "copula-language"? Finnish and Sámi after all do have copula verbs, olla and leat respectively.

Ytan wrote:Thank you tons for the Oahpa link. I am rather proficient in understanding Norwegian due to having Norwegian friends I have talked to extensively, but like I said, I detest the idea of a copula-language. I'll download it and have a look. Maybe I'll try to translate the Norwegian passages to Finnish or something haha.

I know this is off-topic, but out of linguistic curiosity, what do you mean by "copula-language"? Finnish and Sámi after all do have copula verbs, olla and leat respectively.

I know that. I just remembered the term meaning like "something done via/by something" which I tried to use to indicate that it'd be pretty awkward to try to learn a language that is very close to my native one using a language that has nothing to do with it, like a native English speaker learning German by using resources in Chinese.